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BY W. W. & W. R. BRADLEY. ABBEVILLE, 8. C? WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1912. ESTABLISHED LEGAL An Address Delii Bar Association Eugene B. Gar We will not consume time In under taking to define the word "ethics," in a technical sense, as it will subserve our purpose on this occasion to state, that it simply Connotes duty, whether applied to the legal, the medical or any other profession. " No code of ethics should be recog nized, that is not founded upon truth, fidelity, honesty, and the rest of the virtues, as no lawyer can be truly great whose character is not founded upon morality. Custom has sanctioned certain phraseB, until they have become a part of the Common speech, such as "legal ethics," "medical ethics," etc., which are to be undertsood, as desig nating the moral principles and codes of specialized rules, which are for the guidance of the practloner, in the res pective professions. ' Upon investigation, however, It will ' be found that many of these rules, are but special applications of broad prin ciples, while others are only conven tional usages of the particular pro fession. ' This is strikingly Illustrat ed by those rules, pertaining to the professional intercourse of praction ers, and while such rules have a de cidily ethical "basis, they are, neverthe less, of that character, to which we ordinarily apply the term etiquette. PerhaDS the most marked distinc tion, between legal ethics and that of other professions, is, that a violation of its canons may result in profession al death to the lawyer, there*- mak ing it unlawful for him, thereafter, to exercise the right and privilege guar anteed to him by the Federal and State Constitutions, of which he. car not be deprived, except by due pro cess of law. A citizen is kept in bounds, by his respect for the law and the force of public opinion, but in the legal pro fession a summuary jurisdiction is lodged in the courts, to discipline those who violate the ethical code, prescribed for the guidance of the leg al profession. To this extent, legal ethics partake of the nature of law. The power to punish for a violation of thos6 canons of the ethical code, which are generally recognized as be ing founded upon morality, is inherent In the very organization of the court, whether they have been formally pro mulgated or not, as a code. It is in the nature of the police power, which is fundamental and essential to gov ernment. Legal ethics demand, not only an intelligent watchfulness to do right, but alsb a knowledge of established customs and traditions of the profes sion. Hence good intentions and high moral ideals, do not always safeguard the lawyer, against violations of itf canons. Codes of ethics, while emphasizing certain moral principles, of which ev ery member of the bar should be cog nizant, do not undertake to specify al! the canons to be observed by them, a? this would be impossible. Therefore it is of the utmost importance, that legal ethics should form a part of thr curriculum of every law school, and no one should be admitted to the TiroottrA who r.an not oass a satis factory examination, upon this course of study. We are glad to see that the State Board of Law Examiners in this State, has prescribed such course of study. In every age, the lawyer has played a conspicuous part, in shaping the af fairs of State: and in certain coun tries, the legal profession has taker rank, among the orders of nobility. The persons at Athens, who corres ponded most nearly to advocates of modern times, were not speakers in courts, but a class of learned men, be \ longing to a distinguished branch of society, who composed speeches for clients to be delivered by the parties themselves, in their own ca'uses. In Rome there was no particular . line of demarkation, drawn between A the advocate and the statesman. While f appearing in the cause of his client, the speaker was, in fact, acquiring that popularity and influence, which placed all public honors within his grasp. Among their privileges ,the advo j\ cates were exempt from many bur dens, imposed upon others. After ceas ing to exercise their profession, they were admitted to the order of counts of the first rank. ' _ From' the fourteenth century, the * Bar of France constituted an order of nobility, known as Noblesse de la Robe, until the French Revolution in 1789. The Magistrates, who as mem bers of the parliament of Paris, rep resented the feudal court and council of the ancient kings, were selected from this order. Thereafter In 1804, Napoleon decreed the re-e9tablist t ment of the order of advocates, assign ing as a reason, that it was "one of the most proper, to maintain the pro persons came to be admitted to the practice; under the name of "Counsel lors at Law." At present the order of sergeants is extinct. The oath of the ancient advocate, bound him to serve both the king and "his people." The English barrister afterwards, was made a part of the Court, and it was his duty to advise the Court, on the law of the case, and to assist the suit or, in presenting hig testimony; an to both, he was required to act with the utmost good faith. In England, the advocates were not simply mem bers of a learned profession, but of a distinct order of society, established by civil authority, constituting a fra ternity, with settled rules and usages, and known as the order of advocates. The office of the advocate in Amer ica combines the powers conferred upon the attorney at law and the bar rister in England. His status is thus defined in ex parte Garland 4 Wall, 333. "The profession of an attorney and counseller, is not like an office creat ed by an Act of Congress, which de pends for its continuance, its powers and is emoluments, upon the will of its creator, and the possession of which, may be burdened with any conditions, not prohibited by tho Con stitution. Attorneys and counsellors ire not officers of the United States, hey are not elected or appointed, in the manner prescribed by the Consti tution for the election and nppoint nent of such officers. They are of ficers of the Court; admitted as such by its order, upon evidence of tncir Dossessing enough legal learning nnd fair private character * Tho order of admission is the judgment of he Court, that the parties possess the requisite qualifications as attorneys "tnd counsellors, and are entitled to ippear as such and conduct cases herein. From its entry the parties >ecome officers of the Court, and are -esponsible to it, for professional mis conduct. They hold their office dur ng good behavior, and can only be de prived of it for misconduct, ascert "lined and declared by the judgment of he Court, after opportunity to be ieard has been afforded. Their admis sion or their exclusion is not the ex ercise of a mere ministerial power. It is the exercise of judicial power ind has been so held In numerous :ases.' / De Tocqueville, the first great ob server of American institutions, was struck with the fact that we had no slass, corresponding to that of the nobility in other countries; but reach ed the conclusion that the legal pro fession in America takes the place of an order of nobility in other coun tries. Many years ago he said: "In America there are no nobles or literary men, and the people are apt [to mistrust the wealthy;- lawyers, therefore, form the highest political class. ... As the lawyers form the only enlightened class whom the people do not mistrust, they are nat urally called upon to occupy most of the public stations. They fill the leg islative assemblies, and are at the head of the administration; they con sequently exercise a powerful influ ence upon the formation of the law, and upon its execution. In speaking of lawyers' responsibil ity, Chancellor Kent well said: "The responsibilities attached to the profession and practice of the law, are of the most momentous charac ter. Its members by their vocation, ought to be fitted for the great public duties of life, and they may be said to be, ox-officio, natural guardians of the law, and to stand sentinel over the Constitutions and liberties of the country." No very specific enumeration of the duties of the advocate has ever been made by statute, either in England or America. In the main, until recently, the ethical Code of the profession, was unwritten. On several occasions, sporadic attempts have been made to introduce something of this kind in the codes of civil procedure. The ba sis of most of the attempts was the ancient oath administered to advo cates by the laws of Geneva, which was as follows: ETHIC5. /ered Before State by Chief Justice y, Jan. 25, I9I2. bity, delicacy, disinterestedness, desire of conciliation, love of truth and jus tice, an enlightened' zeal for the weak and the oppressed, which are the es sential foundations of their profes sion." T? 1 ~ ^ a *\/\nnAvia I Ill HiLlglCLIlUf LJULC JUL J. 3C JJCiDUUa X U larly licensed to practice in the King's courts, were called sergeants, that is "servants at law of our Lord the King," Unlike all prior advocates, they were a part of the Court itself; were regularly appointed by royal patent; were admitted only upon tak ing oath; had a monopoly of all the practice, and were directly amenable to the king, as a part of his judicial system. For several generations the sergeants constituted the entire bar, but about the time Edward II, other "I solemnly swear before Almighty God, to be faithful to the republic and the canton of Geneva; never to de part from the respect due to tfie tri bunals and authorities; never to counsel or maintain a cause, which does not appear to be just or equita ble, unless It be the defense of an ac cused person; never to employ know ingly, for the purpose of maintain ing the cause confided to me, any means contrary to truth, and never seek to mislead the judges by any ar tifice or false statement, of fact or law; to abstain from all offensive personality, and to advance no fact contrary to the honor or reputation of the parties, if it be not indispensa ble to the cause with which I may be charged; not to encourage-either the commencement or continuance of a suit from any motive of passion or in terest; not to reject for any consider ation, personal to myself the cause of the weak, the stranger, or the op pressed." An exceedingly able code of ethics was recently adopted by the Ameri can Bar Association, and for the bene fit of the younger members of the pro fession we deem this an appropriate occasion to reproduce certain of its canons, which are as follows: "It Id the right of a lawyer to un dertake the defense of a person accus ed of crime, regardless of his person al opinion as to the guilt of the ac cused; otherwise innopent persons, victims only of suspicious circumstan ces, might be denied, proper defense. "Efforts, direct or indirect; in any way, to encroach upon the business of another lawyer, are unworthy of those,' who should be brethren at the Bar; but, nevertheless, it is the right of any lawyer, without fear or favor, to give advice to those seeking relief, against unfaithful or neglectful coun sel, generally after communication with the lawyer, of whom the com plaint is made. "A lawyer should not, in any way, communicate upon the subject of con-, troversy with a party represented by counsel, much less should' he under take to negotiate or compromise the matter with him, but should deal only with his counsel. It is incumbent up on the lawyer most particularly to avoid every thing that may tend to mislead a party not represented by counsel, and he should not undertake to advise him as to the law. "The lawyer should not purchase any Interest in the subject matter of the litigation which he is conducting. "Money of the client or other trust property coming into the possession of. the lawyer, should be reported promptly, and except with the client's knowledge and consent should not be commingled with his private proper ty, or be used by him. ' "Contingent fees, where sanctioned by law, should .be under the supervis ion of the Court, In order that clients may be protected from unjust charg es. "Controversies with clients concern ing compensation are to be avoided by the lawyer, so far as shall be com patible with his self-respect, and with his right to receive reasonable com pensation, for his services;" and law suits with clients should be resorted to only to prevent injustice, imposi tion or fraud. "It Is proper for a lawyer to assert in argument his personal belief in his client's innocehce, or In justice of his cause. "The office of attorney does not per mit, much less does it demand of him Pnr nnv nil Ant. violation of law or any manner of fraud or chicane. He must obey his o^n conscience^ and not that of his client. ' , . "A lawyer should always treat ad verse witnesses and suitors with fair ness and due consideration, and he should never minister to the malevol ence or prejudice of a client in the trial or conduct of a case. The client can not be made the keeper of the lawyer's conscience in professional matters. He haa no right to demand that his counsel shall abuse opposite party, or indulge in offensive person alties. "When a lawyer is a witness for his client, except as to merely formal matters, such as the attestation or nnofndv nf an Instrument or the like. he should leave the trial of the case to the other counsel. Except when es sential to the ends of justice, a law yer should avoid testifying In Court in behalf of his client. "It is unprofessional and dishonor able to deal other than candidly with the facts, In taking the statements of witnesses, in drawing affadivlts and other documents, and in the presenta tion of causes. "As far as possible, important agreements, affecting the rights of clients, should be reduced to writing; but it is dishonorable to avoid perfor mance of an agreement fairly made, because it is not reduced to writing, as required by rules of Court. "It Is disputable to hunt up defects in titles, or other causes of action thereof, in order to be employed to bring suit, or to breed litigation, by seeking out thoc w ith claims for per sonal injuries, in order to secure as clients, or to employ agents or run ners for like purposes, or to pay or reward, directly or indirectly, those who bring or influence the bringing of such cases, to his office, or to remun erate policemen, court or prison offi cials, physicians, hospital attaches, or others who may succeed, ilnder the guise of giving disinterested friendly advice, in influencing the criminal, the sick and Injured, the ignorant or oth ers, to seek his professional services. A duty to the public and to the pro fession, devolves upon every member of the Bar, having knowledge of such practices, upon the part of any prac titioner, Immediately to inform there of, to the end that the offender may i be disbarred. i "Lawyers should expose without i fear or favor, before the proper trl- ! bunals, corrupt or dishonest conduct in the profession, and-should accept ] without hesitation, employment 1 aeainst a member of the Bar. who has 1 wronged his client The counsel up- i on the trial of a case. In which per- i jury has been committed, onre It to 1 the profession and the public, to bring the matter to the attention of the pros- < ecutlng authorities. " i "His appearance in Court; should 1 be deemed equivalent to an assertion 1 on his honor, that in his opinion, his i client's case is one proper for Judl- 1 cial determination." < It concludes with this statement, as i to the lawyer's duty In the last analy- < sis: i* .< 1 "No . client, corporate or individual, s however powerful, nor any cause, civ- 1 li or political, however important, is 1 Entitled to receive, nor should any t Lawyer render any . service or advice < invllving disloyalty to the law, or dls- 1 respect -of the judicial office which we l are bound to uphold, or corruption pf i any person or persons, exercising a i public office or private trust, or de- 1 XI V 1 _? 11. l.ll? * cepuuu ui ueua;ai ui uia yuuiu. - i But above all, a lawyer will find his highest honor In a deserved reputa- 1 tlon for fidelity to. private trust and j to public duty, as an honest man and f a patriot and loyal* citizen." :t In the case of Price vs. Moses, 10 1 Rich. 454, It was held, that an attor> t ney Is not an Incompetent witness for t his client, because of his Interest In n the costs, but that it was proper be- f fore being examined, he should with-* < draw from the management of the ia case, have another attorney substitute t ed in his place, and release his possl* g ble right to costs.. - j In that case the Court used this 0 language: "The advocate and the wlt> t ness, should not be mixed up in the t same case, and, in all Instances where j It is known, before the commencement t of a suit, that an attorney i* to be a g 'witness, he should, decline the posl- 0 tlon of an advocate." This in so far aa ( we are Informed, ia In accord with the canons of pthics, announced by all the writers upon this subject The provisions of the Code of Laws In this State touching the subject un der consideration, are the following Section 2815: "Attorneys, solicitors and counsellors may be removed or suspended, and, In aggravated cases, Imprisoned not exceeding twenty-four hours, by the several courts In which they have been admitted to practice, If In the presence of the Court, they are guilty of any disorderly conduct, caus ing an interruption of business, or -amounting to an open and direct con tempt of the Court, his authority, or person; but subject'to such removal, they shall hold their office for life." Section 2816: "Any attorney, solic itor, or counsellor, may be removed or suspended, who shall be guilty of any deceit, malpractice, or misde meanor." t Section 2817: "If any attorney, sol icitor, or counsellor, shall enter into any speculating practices, by purchas ing or procuring to be purchased, any note or other demand, for the pur pose of putting the same in suit, when r>?Ti'(ao ffio ntrnAr or holder there "> . O of, would' not sue the same, such at torney, solicitor, or counsellor, shall pay a fine of one hundred dollars, and shall thereafter be Incapable of prac ticing as such in any Court, until resr . tored by the Supreme Court" , .. We come now to what we regard as j the most important part of this ad dress. The subject of legal ethics is usually discussed under the'following heads: (1) Those duties which the lawyer owes to the public or common wealth; (2) Those which are due from him to the Court; (3) Those which are due from' his professional breth ren, and, (4) Those which are due from him to his client Henceforth, we shall only discuss those duties, which the lawyer owes to the public or commonwealth. His duties to the State or body po litic, arise from the fact that he is an t officer in the judicial department, which Is one of the three co-ordinate branches of the government, and, as such officer, he Is under the moral ob ligation, to use his best efforts, to ren der effectual and successful the ad ministration of the legislative and the executive departments, as. the three branches are so inter-dependent, that a failure to administer properly the legislative or executive departments will necessarily hamper. and render less effective the judicial branch. That duty; is thus expressed by Archer in Section 91 of his work, entitled: "Eth ical Obligations of the Lawyer:" "A lawyer Is an officer of the Courts and, as such owes them various duties. But the Courts compose one of the co ol dinate branches of the government. Hence th,e duties owed to the Courts are Indirectly owed to the State and Nation. But there are many other duties that the lawyer otaes directly to the 8tate. 'The ordniary citizen is under certain obligations to the State, and a failure to keep, or h wilful vio lation of these obligations, renders the offender liable to punishment Upon admission to the bar the duties and obligation! of the citizen remain, and the duties and obligations of the law yer are added to them. The State has; through one of its agencies, theCourta conferred upon the lawyer, upon his admission to the Bar, a new standing In the commuiity in which he1 lives. It has granted him hew powers and privileges. It is proper, therefore, that it should exact greater- accounta-i bility from" him, thkh from the ordi aary citizen." The duty or tne lawyer it a citizen lir paramount to" that which he owea to:hls client Another duty, though generally ov erlooked, arise* from the fact,' that the people, by constitutional and stat utory provisions, have constituted the legal profession, the sole and eiclu ilve trustee, to administer justice in ;he judicial department of the gov ernment, as hd one can either preside' is a Judge, or practice iff the Courts, except those who have been duly ad nitttfd as attorneys.' As we have just ihown, the fact that a lawyer ;is a rnstee 'for one d'epartment/'nece'ssrar ly Imposes upon him the moral'duty o aid fn the adinihisiratlon of the two, )ther departments, so as to enable he Judicial branch to'1 accomplish a ore successfully the purposes ior which it was created. This does not nean that it is* incumbent on him to ldld'office in' the other department nerely because he is a Iawy??. \ 'Another duty is Imposed upoh'the awyer, by-reason of the fa&t;!tfeal the >eople, in the exercise of the Elective ranchise have entrhfct^d'tho members >f the legal fraternity1 with the a^miri stration of the legislative and 'execii-j ive departments to a far greater ex-( ent than' they have ' entrusted1 ' the aembers of all other classes or -prtK essiohs. - ' >" -? ' The following statement appears fa . note on pbge;38 of '^Legal tftfitctf" y Warvilier "It Is 'said' that" iwentji^i ive out of tifty-ilx''"sfgn'wff0'Ijt'' Jeclaration of" Independence)' fl'ftyoiit f flfty-flve members bf "^he Cdhven lon which framed ottf Federkl (Jonsti utiori, nineteen out of 'twenty-four 'resindents, seventeen but of twenty hrea vice-Dresidentff iof "the- United Itates, and two hundredf'and '&ii?tbeia( nt of two fcutftfred1 alid^tfeir^^fo'tlf !ablnet officers, were lawyers;' that aOre than twO third* of "the tJnlfed1 itates Senatotg and afeotit1 one-half of' iui'''Reprelientit'tlv6s In' Cbngrteafl,' anti 'oovirrft1 and* he majority of oo> diplomats atid Vep eaentatlvea in foreign cdtintrifea, have ieen lawyers."** The following atatBment is taken; rom the Green Bag: "The gOverh o!ent of the Ufalted'&tatesls appar ntly In the h&iids Of the lasers. Of he 480 members 'of CongTfeas, both Senate and rioua6; '$04 ate lawyers. Tii judicial brancli if,'of couTSe, giv-' n over entirely to fiVyers.- And ' of he executive branch, President Tift1 a a lawyer, and'.seven out'of '!rilii^J nemberg of the Cabinet have had a egal training." It will thus be Seen, hat the lawyer is morally re'spOnsi-' >le to a greater extent thaii all'oth-: ics for the dud administration of the aw, In every department of the gov irnmeht. ' : l The lawyers are the only;body of oen set apart from . the study and iractice of government, ana .tne ihances are that tiiey will be called ipon to take an active part In the sev eral branches thereof. For this rea on some writers have contended that here should be a preparatory train ng In the study of Jurisprudence, rhose foundation shouid be laid in in acquaintance with thq masters of hought on moral and political ques ions; and that the first books placed n the hands of the student of law, ihould be those which treat of the ^ jrinciples of general jurisprudence, ipart from the peculiarities of any )?rticular system; that the able and nstructlve treatises by such writers is Paley, Montesqueu, Burlamaqui, Rutherford, Vattel and Wheatoii, vhich naturally cognate to the course >f Constitutional law, would instruct iim as to his moral duties, as well as prepare him to be a statesman. Several years ago a banquet was fiven in honor of Mr. Justice Harlan n comtnemoration of the twenty-fifth mniversary of bis tenure or omce as i Justice of the Supreme Court of ,he United 9ates. Among those "pr^s uit wa? Mr. Roosevelt, then President >f the United States. In responding :o a toast he paid a beautiful and well leserved tribute to Mr. Justice Harlan 'or the valuable contributions hie had nade by his able opinions to the gen jral Jurisprudence of the country, but included with the statement that :hose paled Into Insignificance, in jomparison with his work as a con ductive statesman, In the settlement :hat had come before that grand Court for adjudication, arising out of the tvar between the States. , ...... jf the great quasi-political questions It is undoubtedly the case, that no member of a Supreme Court can ful 011 the highest requirements of that office, unless he is qualified to deter mine in a statesmanlike manner, the quasi-political questions, involving the very foundations of government. We do not regard the necessity for Tedu.cing the canons of legal ethics to a written code, as near so important as the attitude of the Bar towards the enforcement of the rules, whether written or unwritten. Class legisla tion will continue, and we need not expect <a revision of the tariff in the interest of the people until the Bar of America awakea to the realization of its full duty towards the administra tion of the law in every deparment. It is not only incumbent on the indi vidual lawyer! to observe the rules of ethics,-but' the Bar Association throughout the country should look to'.the enforcement of the moral duty which each' member owes to all the different branches of the governmen. Indeed, *iris 4b by far the most impor tant^ dirty, resting upon the Bar Asso ciations.-' kv.W . 'The legal profession is now on trial. We can not.jBhut ourey-es no the fact that the people are becoming dissat isfied with the .manner^ in which it is discharging its-duty, as sole trustee of tho Judicial department-of tJie cov emment It is only necessary to note the efforts on the part of the people to takp a mbre active part themselves in the administration, of justice, by placing in-theiT constitutions the pow ec-to-;TecalL the Judges, when in their opinion tney no not tninK-tn? iruat is being properly executed. But a-short time ago President Taft vetoed the bill to admit Arizona as a State, on the ground^that the proposed consti tution 'contained the power to recall the Judges. Nor can we ignore the ;fact that th? Aratiner in which' the ex ecutive and legislative departments of the :government are being, adminis tered, is not giving satisfaction to the people'anit that they are seeking re lief tn various ways. For instance, several of ' the Stages have already inferred upph women, the right of .SiQfferage, in order that life, liberty ind proper# may. be properly protectj 1 eft. A li > Is, only- recently that Califor nia had clothed them with such pow er; and Mother. .Stgt^fl will surely dp likewise, unleap there is a change for i tne peuei; m,ui? euaciuieui.. jwuu e*e ." I * Is it not a' reflection upon our pro-l ' (easlon that, although -the /President 1 Qf the Uhited. Site's 1b, a lawyer, and > a,vmajority:; Jh both branches of Con-? < gress are lawyere.va tariff was enact i edf Whichcauses,?great "suffering < i among the masses on account of the1 ' 'high price of ilvlngr ' ] r.' May . not the >omen df .the country, i In self-defense, yet find It'necessary 'i todemand the right of suffrage in ,1 order' to put;*' 'to' ^taft, special, i fcriyileges a^d. oppression from the i 'tariff?' im V : BWofoVcopbludijxg ,our. remarks, we deem this an appropriate oocasion to <1 Quote the; langau^e.pt'lcertain eminent ' j ia^eirp, ; uttered; in. a friendly, spirit ]\ and for t^e uplifting of our "prbfes- 1 aiqn.,If/the ; language which we are i fcbout to quote had originated from 1 the enemies of-our 'profession, we 1 would not have thought of ' reproduc- i Jng.it.' . ./ ? . V-vr , V , Mr. Taft, at the tneeting 0! the Con- i ference on the Reform of Criminal i t<aw / and ft Procedure, .thus clearly . &howq that he* floes not think the t le gal profession has properly discharg ed -ltd"- trust: "One of the strongest influence for looseness, ip thd conduct of criminal''trials in,, my Judgment, J has been the presence of lawyers in our legislatures, who have sought to n abate and limit by statute the power < ot Judges, and to take; away this .< source Of respect for their rulings, ; -which.is so apparent in every Eng- ;< lish court of justice. What I believe j >to be an unfounded fear of judicial i tyranny, and an unreasonable distrust I of Judges, hav& led to statutory limi- . .tations upon their power in the con- ' duct'of trials in criminal cases, r? ?.ich i have made the trial by jury in this 1 country, and elspecially in the Wes- ] tern States, an entirely different in- i stitution from what it was understood < to be at the time of the adoption of our constitution. In. many States, Judges I ^re not permitted to comment upon 1 the'facts at'air. They are not even allowed to charge the jury, after the i arguments of counsel, but they are 1 required to submit written charges i to the jury, iipdn obtuse questions of i law*, with no opportunity to apply :he 1 principles. Concretely to the facts of ] the case, and with the result that the ! questions, both of law and fact, are i largely left to the untutored and un I dlscinlined action of the jury, influ- : enced o^Iy by the contending argu- i menta of counsel. The restraint that < the Judges in the course of a trial, 1 imposes upon the manner and conduct 1 of: counsel in an English Court, is 1 thus- wholly wanting, with the result that there seems to have been a sub stantial change in the code of profes sional ethics governing Counsel,and in the extremes, to which counsel, in the defense of their clients, seem to think it is entirely proper for them to go. Their conduct makes neither for the dignity of the Court, for the eleva tion of the ethics of the bar, nor the expediting of criminal procedure, nor .for the reasonable punishment of crime. These circumstances reduce the po sitfon of the Judges from the place of power and usefulness, occupied by the English Judge, to one in which the trial is largely conducted by the chief counsel for the defense, and those present in Court are zriade to feel that the question at issue is not so much whether the defendant violated the law, as whether the Judge is violate ingit" .* . Mr. Williams in his work entitled "Legal Ethics," pages 216-2)7, thought it necessary to use this language: ' "Some criminal lawyers set themsel ves deliberately to work up' a defense when there is none in fact They be come what Judge Qibson calls the -'mercenaries' of the thieves and rob- ' bers who employ them. They procure men to dog the footsteps of witnesses whose testimony is supposed to be most unfavorable to their clients, and win thorn over, if possible, into sym pathy for the prisoner, if this cannot be done, they then ply them with questions, ior tne purpose 01 entangl ing them, in a web of petty contra dictions. They provide the friends of the defendant with a copy of the jury ,11st, well knowing their purpose to corrupt some of the jurors, if pos sible, so as to secure a disagreement. If they can not secure an acquittal. They put witnesses upon the stand to establish an alibi, or some fact im porant'to the defense, whose testi mony they are morally satisfied is un true; and, in the argument, they press upon the jury, as unworthy of belief, evidence which they do not believe, and treat as creditable witnesses those whom they know to be perjur- - ed. * * * * Their object U not to aid in the just administration of the law, but to defeat it; .and the re sult to them by a certain class of un scrupulous practloners, who infest AAlivfa A# fVia rlHwK hfift driven the ablest and most upright lawyers wholly out of th'.i depart ment of the practice. /V' ^ ^ When a community that has been recently shocked by the commission of some great crime in its midst, sees > the criminal, about whose guilt they have no doubt, acquitted* of the of fense, and turned loose once more up on society, as the result of Uie mala droit practices of his lawyer, It aught - not to be wondered at if the unreason ing men and women of that communi ty loose faith In the Integrity of the bar, and come to regard its members eiis the foes of good order, and the iomplices. of felons." . Mr. Archer saw fit to make these observation a in his book entitled 'Ethical Obligations of the. Lawyer,", .1 page 196: "It is a dishonorable act to % issist a client to secretly violate ex isting laws. It W scarcely less dis- "A honorable to assist him to circumvent yj the spirit cf the law, while obeying it to the letterL vjs Many wise and just laws have been rendered nugatory by some crafty lawyer finding a way whereby ,a weal thy client might still carry on .with Impunity.the, veiy business that the Btatute was aimed, ,to remeoy. ouvu things cast-tire profession' of the law Into disrepute, and foster a . public distrust of all laws and judicial instl* tutions. \ This contest between law-makers and law-breakers is much the same as that waged between safe-nlakers and safe-breakers." On the ninth of June, 1910, Hon. Pliny L Sexton delivered an address on legal ethics, before the Albany Law School in which he said: "While the great majority of the members of the bar are high-toned, honorable men?none more so, there are those on the roster-roll of attorneys, who discredit the profession, and. whose . misdeeds have made its members gen erally, objects of suspicion in the minds of the people. Demonstration or explanation of snch well known facts, can not be needful. * And too often, indeed, have lawyers who would scorn to do evil for them selves, lent the aid of their powers, for the furthering of reprehensible purposes of unworthy clients, and in shielding them from the consequen :es 01 misaoiugB. There has been so much departing from the paths of propriety by mem bers of the bar, that it has cast a re proach upon the whole profession, and It Is high time for the legal fra ternity to purge its conscience, and Jrive from its ranks those who, at once discredit their manhood and their calling. The profession must purify iteslf, and should be relentless In so doing, both for self-defense and the good of society. , Much has been done of late years In the way of raising intellectual Btandards for admission to the learn ed professions; a broader, general mental culture and technical knowl edge are requisite, and now should come marked progress and regenera tion. It is well, as has been done, to for mulate codes of ethics, to prescribe rules of proper conduct; but here again, as with laws in general, to be useful they must De ooeyea. - - The writers of creeds, seldom state any new doctrines; they simply cor relate definitions of recognized prin ciples; and it is helpful so to do. Our mentioned code of ethics, (Code of Ethics of the American Bar Associa tion) tells the members of our pro fession little, or nothing, which they Continued on last page.